Le 04 Succes (page 281) – hector’s take

my friend kathy took near 100 process photos, my friend craig took photos of kathy and i taking photos. here are the photos i took for ROSE’S heavenly CAKES: Le Succes (page 281). this is hector’s take at its best!

we did several tests, regarding the lemon tea flavoring on the ganache. we compared unflavored ganache made with the best chocolate known by mankind vs lemon tea flavored ganache. people’s choice was the lemon tea version, something about the tangy lemon making a nice zing with the sweet meringue nut discs.

my friends never tried this cake made with almonds, we used mac nuts instead, it really was fabulous, comparison not needed!

this is the most spectacular flourless chocolate cake i know of, where simplicity is respected, make it as soon as you can.

this cake, le succes, you make the ‘cake’ part by piping the batter on a silpat. i traced my silpat with heart shapes. then, when you assemble the cake, the ganache is applied with an icing spatula, keeping the heart shape free hand with the icing spatula. a cardboard the same size and shape as your desired final shape helps a lot to guide you.

yes, the piping on the heart cake was done ahead of time. using my heart shaped mini tart pans, ceramic (http://astore.amazon.com/myyelkit-20/detail/B000GLJZ4K), upside down, lined in plastic wrap, i piped the ganache with a large rose tip. then it was well refrigerated (overnight), and taking to my class the next morning. the cold ganache peeled right off in one piece and i placed it on the frosted cake. takes about 1 to 2 hours for this to reach room temp again, as you should not eat this cake too cold!

making this finishing touch from the beginning would require a separate class date!

Hector – thanks for sending the links. I could not stop staring at the heart shaped one. It is so breathtaking!
Okay I know you are crazy about mac nuts, but would you not try to make this with almonds? Or you have and you just prefer the mac nuts version? Can you really substitute almonds with mac nuts for everything?

thx Jenn, i was really inspired to make the heart shape for the seasons… valentines and for my distant cousin.

i don’t think you can sub almonds with macs for everything. macs are higher in fat content. i do macs because they are more accessible for me, and i do prefer the taste of macs over almonds. it has been working more than excellent so far.

for once, when recipes call for unblanched almonds, i can’t use macs, because macs are always blanched (macs lack of the bitter skin). also butter cakes using almonds, i would expect the macs replacement to give a denser texture.